Allegories of Power: Art, Empires and Ideas was a partnership project between Harewood House, Alchemy, Bradford Museums and Galleries and Ilkley Literature Festival.

Allegories of Power took a multi-dimensional look at different manifestations of public and private power in both historical and contemporary contexts and its impact on nationhood, art and ideas. It highlighted cross-fertilising links between different strands, enabling new and original connections to be made between artists and art forms across the centuries through an exhibition, workshops, salons and talks.

Each partner had their own distinctive approach to the subject, linked by the commonality of the overarching theme, audiences and complementary events. The programme enabled the partners to interact in new ways, resulting in a body of work that would not otherwise have taken place without these intellectual, artistic and organisational collaborations.